Former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips believes that Leicester City could be the ideal transfer destination for Matheus Pereira after the Foxes were linked to his signature.

The 25-year-old midfielder starred for the Baggies in the Premier League least season, scoring 11 times but he was powerless to prevent the club's relegation straight back to the Championship.

Whilst Valerien Ismael is aiming to keep his top stars at The Hawthorns, the Frenchman revealed earlier in the month that he expected the dynamic Brazilian to depart the club this summer.

There have been plenty of clubs taking an interest in Pereira, with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal one of those according to journalist Ekrem Konur, but they will not go above £13 million with West Brom setting the asking price at £22 million.

Portuguese reporter Pedro Almeida believes that West Ham are readying an offer three million pounds below the Baggies' valuation of their star man, but according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on his Twitch channel (via Hammers News), Leicester City are now said to be interested.

Both the Foxes and the Irons have Europa League football next season and are looking to bolster their squad going forward, and former West Brom man Phillips believes that Brendan Rodgers' side will have no issues with meeting the price tag for Pereira.

“I would say from a players’ point of view, if you’ve got the chance to play for Leicester under Brendan Rodgers with the style of play they play, Pereira slips into that mould," Phillips told West Brom News.

“It would be very appealing. Leicester are very wealthy and fees are generally not an issue for them and what West Brom are looking for, they can afford.

“I don’t think I’ve even thought about Leicester when we’ve spoken about Pereira over the previous weeks but when I think about it now, it seems like a pretty good fit for the club and the player.”

The Verdict

Unlike Sam Johnstone who has returned to training this week, Pereira is sitting out of both sessions and matches as he looks to secure a move away from the club.

There's no doubting that a man of his talents deserves to be a Premier League player, especially having paid his dues in the Championship during his loan spell in the 2019-20 season, and Ismael doesn't seem to be standing in his way.

If both West Ham and Leicester meet the asking price of Pereira, then the Brazilian has a tough choice to make.

Both clubs are playing in Europe next season and both have a lot of competition for places - Leicester have the likes of Harvey Barnes and James Maddison whilst West Ham have Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and others although Pereira could be seen as the Jesse Lingard replacement.

This could be an interesting transfer battle for the 25-year-old but it could also drag on for a little while yet.